GRAHAM — Before a Durham County judge announced Aug. 23 she would no longer hear criminal cases here, she addressed what she saw as “harshness” and inconsistency in the Alamance County District Attorney’s Office’s prosecution.

In a transcript of the hearing obtained by the Times-News, Superior Court Judge Elaine Bushfan is quoted as telling prosecutors some plea agreements she ruled on during the week of Aug. 19 to Aug. 23 were unfair.

“That is not equal justice, and I’m striking it,” Bushfan said at one point.

She struck five judgments during that hearing, including sentences for three people who pleaded guilty as habitual felons, one person sentenced for selling drugs near a school and another for a sex offense.

Bushfan called the Aug. 23 hearing with the assistant district attorneys and defense attorneys who tried the five cases. Alamance County Assistant District Attorneys Alex Dawson, Paul Soderberg and Lori Wickline were present, along with defense attorneys Rick Champion, Bob Martin and Todd Smith. Defense attorney David Remington was in the courtroom waiting to hear other matters.

Bushfan discussed heartburn she felt over entering judgments in the cases, reciting the facts of each case before setting them back on the district’s trial calendar. The prosecutors objected to each of the orders.

The judge especially had problems weighing three cases in which defendants were charged with crimes and had extensive records — but were offered considerably different plea agreements.

Bushfan alluded several times to a plea agreement she rejected on Aug. 20 for Emily Ruth Strickland, 35, of Bellemont-Mt. Hermon Church Road, Burlington. Strickland pleaded guilty to cocaine and marijuana possession and had 11 felony convictions between 2002 and 2010, the judge said. The state offered a consolidated, probationary sentence in the plea arrangement and agreed not to indict Strickland as a habitual felon.

On Aug. 19, Kenneth Eugene English, 54, pleaded guilty as a habitual felon to selling five pills to an undercover officer. Bushfan found that Strickland’s criminal record was more recent than English’s.

“That is a prosecutor’s tool to use a habitual felon status as they see fit. If you can bypass somebody who has 13 felonies, recent felonies and never get charged as a habitual felon status, there is no way that I’m going to enter a habitual status felon, take your weapon and use it on a gentleman who’s not been convicted of a crime since 2005, a felony. That is not equal justice, and I’m striking it,” Bushfan said.

She also found that Strickland’s criminal record was worse than Crystal Buchanan’s. Buchanan, 31, pleaded guilty earlier in the day Aug. 20 to being a habitual felon.

“She definitely has less felony convictions than the young lady (Strickland) that was offered … a suspended sentence and two consecutive terms,” Bushfan said. “But the rationale that the state gave to me for one person being offered a suspended sentence is (Strickland) went into rehab. That’s just not acceptable, so I’m striking that judgment.”

Page 2 of 4 - Dawson, Soderberg and Wickline objected to each of the judge’s orders.

In addressing underlying drug habits in several of the cases, Bushfan told Martin she hoped the district attorney’s office would be more forgiving in future prosecution

“I hope that they will get the treatment they deserve and need rather than the harshness,” Bushfan said. ”There are some options out there … But it would be my experience after 20 years of presiding in a courtroom on a daily basis that there are several options that the state of North Carolina has that can be utilized other than forever locking up people who have problems with drugs, and we need to use those.”

Speaking about two cases that she didn’t strike judgments on, Bushfan said Alamance County prosecutors weren’t using state laws offering deferred prosecution enough. Deferred prosecution allows first-time offenders in some cases to plead guilty, complete a year of probation and come away with a clean criminal record. She said she’d only seen one deferred prosecution agreement put forth by prosecutors here.

ALAMANCE COUNTY District Attorney Pat Nadolski wasn’t present at the hearing and wouldn’t comment directly in response to statements the judge made, citing ethical rules. He defended his office’s negotiation of plea agreements with defense attorneys and said the process is complex and nuanced.

“Every case is different. Every case has a different prosecutor with discretion (about how a plea agreement is reached),” Nadolski said. “We look at the individual cases: the quality of the cases, a defendant’s criminal record, the type of crime and whether a person has been victimized. From there, the case is negotiated and we look at the individual defendant.”

Nadolski added that his prosecutors consult with victims before plea agreements are set.

He said his office wouldn’t offer deferred prosecutions in some cases, specifically for home break-ins or for violent felonies. And even though the law allows for deferred prosecution in some cases, “that doesn’t mean you have to,” Nadolski said.

He wouldn’t comment on any of the cases Bushfan mentioned, which are all set for the Sept. 30 calendar.

In looking at the files and charges between Strickland, Buchanan and English, Strickland’s possession charge is slightly less severe on the state’s sentencing and punishment grid.

Strickland’s most serious charge, cocaine possession, is a class I felony. English’s most serious charge, selling a schedule III controlled substance, is a class H felony. Buchanan’s most serious charge is obtaining property by false pretense, a class H felony. Felonies range in severity from A, being the most severe, to I, being the least severe.

â–Ş Ephriam Alexander Jr., 43, of Rayon Street, Burlington, pleaded guilty Aug. 21 to selling a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, sell cocaine, possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana and possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine. A plea agreement consolidated the charges into a single, class E felony Â— for selling drugs in a school zone, the most serious charge. Bushfan originally issued a suspended 17- to 33-month sentence with 24 monthsÂ’ probation.

Alexander allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover officer April 25, 2012, at a barber shop across the street from Eastlawn Elementary. A raid was later conducted and drugs and weapons were seized from Alexander’s home.

Bushfan said that because Alexander was called to the Big Lots parking lot by the undercover officer, and because Alexander had a clean record to that point, the plea was “just a little bit harsh.”

â–Ş Jonathan David Kelley, 19, of Terrywood Road, Burlington, pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexual battery. A plea agreement dismissed charges of crime against nature and second-degree sex offense. In 2010, at the age of 16, he was accused of forcing another 16-year-old to perform oral sex. Bushfan originally issued a suspended 45-day sentence and placed him on 18 monthsÂ’ probation. Kelley had no prior convictions.

“The (sex offender) registration that was required for Mr. Kelley would be for a period of 30 years. This court finds that considering all of the facts of the case to be harsh,” Bushfan said. “For the last three years, this young man has done pretty well in terms of his schooling. I think it would behoove this court or any other court to get a more, a broader view of his life by having a pre-sentencing hearing report done ...”

â–Ş Ruben Torres, 43, of King, pleaded guilty Monday to being a habitual felon, obtaining property by false pretense, cocaine possession, felony possession of stolen goods, possessing drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer. He was sentenced to between five years, seven months minimum and seven years, nine months maximum in a mitigated sentence as a level five offender.

“Mr. Torres admitted his drug use and addiction had caused all of these problems in his life,” Bushfan said. “Forty-three years of age, college educated, had served his country and got caught up in the drug game and went downhill from there. He went to prison. And I’m, therefore, striking that judgment and ordering a pre-sentencing report on him.”

â–Ş Crystal Martin Buchanan, 31, of Swepsonville-Saxapahaw Road, Graham, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a habitual felon, obtaining property by false pretense and financial card theft. She stole a manÂ’s debit card and charged items to it in April. She was originally sentenced to between four years, 10 months minimum and seven years, 10 months maximum.

Page 4 of 4 - “Her record, likewise, is very bad and is indicative of a drug addiction,” Bushfan said.

â–Ş Kenneth Eugene English, 54, of East Harden Street, Graham, pleaded guilty Monday to being a habitual felon, possession with intent to sell/deliver hydrocodone, sell and deliver hydrocodone and conspiracy to sell and deliver hydrocodone. He sold five pills to an undercover officer in July 2012. Bushfan originally issued a mitigated sentence of between seven years, seven months to 10 years, two months in prison. With credit for time served, English was likely to spend about six and a half years in prison.

“I find that that sentence is harsh, and I’m, therefore, striking that as well,” Bushfan said.